Thanks to Opera’s advanced compression technology, African users of the Opera Mini mobile browsers used 82% less mobile data up to October 2015, according to research by Opera Software.
South African users enjoyed around a $65 million (R 905 million) saving over the 10 months and Nigerians saved a whopping $198-million (N39,5-billion). Africa accounts for around a third of Opera’s users globally and Nigeria is Opera’s third largest market in terms of numbers of users.
Overall Opera Mini users on Java-based phones saved an average of 88% in mobile data each month, while smartphone users saved about 76%, the report reveals. Android users enjoyed 75% savings and iOS users 70%.
The report is based on aggregated information obtained from the Opera Mini servers.
Opera Mini is compatible with over 3000 mobile devices, ranging from basic Java phones to the latest Android and iOS smartphones. This makes it highly popular in the African mobile market, which has a healthy mix of consumers using a large variety of handsets.
Smartphone penetration up but data still expensive
With around 40% of Opera Mini users in Africa now on more data-hungry Android devices, compression technology is more relevant than ever before. The cost of smartphones is declining but research also shows that only 50% of Africans can afford more than 20MB per month. Data is still prohibitively expensive for many.
Opera Mini data compression
These substantial savings were achieved thanks to Opera Mini’s advanced compression technology, which shrinks webpages down to as little as 10% of their original size, reducing data consumption by up to 90%. The data compression also helps render web pages faster, even while roaming, or in places with poor network conditions, making Opera Mini a great companion while on the go.
Small savings add up to big money
Investing in good technology helps users save money. In the case of Opera Mini, the technology is free. Users of the browsing app need only do what they do every day – surf the web with their mobile phones – and Opera Mini will save them money.